CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The third-ranked Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team will travel to Stanford, California, to compete in the International Collegiate Challenge, held at the Burnham Pavilion & Ford Center, on March 3. The meet, hosted by Stanford University, will feature four NCAA Division I programs, as well as national teams from both Japan and Canada. 

"I've always said that you can come and see the world's best gymnastics at our home competitions," head coach Justin Spring said. "I think that getting the opportunity to compete against the world's best and go head to head with them shows that we are in fact putting out some of the best gymnastics you can see."

Scouting the Field 

Stanford

The Cardinal enter the weekend at No. 2 in the most recent coaches poll, trailing only top-ranked Oklahoma. Stanford carries a record of 10-1 on the season, having picked up wins over California (3x), Washington (2x), SC United, UIC, Iowa, Nebraska, and Arizona State. The lone defeat came against Oklahoma. 

Michigan

Following a trip to Huff Hall a week ago, UM now sits at 1-2 on the season. The Wolverines topped Ohio State back in early February, while their losses came against Oklahoma and Illinois. Michigan currently sits at No. 8 in the coaches poll. 

California

Ranked No. 12 in the country, Cal has picked up wins over Washington (2x), Arizona State and SC United. The Golden Bears have three losses on the season, all coming against No. 2 Stanford. Saturday's meet marks the first time Cal and Illinois have faced off since 2013. 

Last Time Out 

The Fighting Illini picked up a 405.200-394.900 win over No. 8 Michigan last weekend at Huff Hall. Senior Bobby Baker led the way, earning three titles on the night, including the top all-around total of 82.700. Senior Brandon Ngai, junior Alex Diab and sophomore Sebastian Quiana also earned event titles at the meet. Ngai posted a season-high 15.300 on pommel horse to come away with his 20th career title on the event, while Diab picked up his 16th career still rings title (14.150). Quiana came away with a career-high 14.450 on parallel bars to earn his second event title on the season.

Baker Earns B1G Weekly Honor 

Following an impressive performance in the win over Michigan, Bobby Baker was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week. The senior posted season-high scores on both vault (15.00) and high bar (14.350) to earn titles and also finished with the top Illini floor total (13.750) to secure a third-place finish in the event behind Michigan's Emyre Cole and Jacob Moore. 

The vault score of 15.000 marks a new school record (under the current scoring system) and is the third highest total in the nation this season. Baker also posted a season-high 12.250 on pommel horse to place ninth in the event. The honor marks the second for the Lemont, Illinois, native, this season and the fifth of his career. 

Career Title Count

Out of the 23 Illini on the roster, 8 have claimed event titles in their careers. Bobby Baker currently sits with 29 total titles, while Chandler Eggleston has 21. Alex Diab enters the weekend with 25 career titles won and Brandon Ngai has 20, all on pommel horse. 

Tyson Bull and Johnny Jacobson have 12 and nine career titles, respectively, and Sebastian Quiana has four titles. Max Diab and Jacob Light each earned their first event title of their career this season and Dennis Minton claimed one event title on still rings in 2016.

Looking Ahead 

The Orange and Blue will return home and welcome both Air Force and UIC to Huff Hall on Friday, March 9. Meet competition is set to begin at 7 p.m. CT.

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